Chapter 25 (1/2)
Rescue Squad
Equivalent exchange… Song Qing felt a jolt of lightning strike his mind and soul.
He believed this was how scholars felt when they came across philosophical poems.
‘To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy’s first law of Equivalent Exchange.’
Song Qing muttered under his breath, “Yes. That’s correct.”
Whenever he successfully produced something, the materials would disappear or transform into a side product.
It was a phenomenon that few noticed, and those who did never bothered to think deeper.
‘The mentor had said alchemy lies in transformations, not transfigurations. Equivalent exchange, that’s what it means…’
The simple quote elicited a shudder from the alchemy fanatic.
When the intense feelings died down, Song Qing began to decipher the unknown words, ‘Edward Elric’.
Was it a name?
It sounded nothing like what he had known.
Perhaps it was a secret word? A secret language of alchemy?
He could not make sense of the words—the mystery haunted him.
Song Qing took a deep breath to calm down. He flipped the page and spent all his mental focus deciphering the ugly handwriting.
The book’s main text began with the words: ‘Entering the world of alchemy!’
Was this an introductory lesson to alchemy?
‘Ridiculous!’ Song Qing thought.
Alchemy knowledge had always been taught through words and examples. The gifted could join their ranks after one and a half years of practice while the untalented could spend 35 years learning and still achieve nothing of note.
To this date, the Imperial Astronomers had never issued any standard education material.
Doubt needled at his heart but the profound quote from the previous page convinced him to read on.
‘Chapter One: There exist many natural phenomena in the world that embody the transmutation and transformation of matter, hidden from the naked eye. Matter interactions are all around us…
‘These can be classified into chemical changes and physical changes…’
Song Qing studied the text and fell into deep thought.
‘What is chemistry? What is an atom? What am I reading? How is it that I can read the characters and yet understand nothing?
‘When I had the chance to read the Confucian scripture, I could at least glean some things. This alchemy book gave me nothing.’
Although Song Qing struggled to understand the contents, his intuition told him the blue book was one of its kind.
It spoke about the basic building blocks of the world—the atoms and its arrangements.
Song Qing felt a shiver down his spine. He felt the urge to destroy the book—the knowledge it contained was too obscure and could be dangerous in the wrong hands.
However, his heart was tempted by the forbidden fruit. Curiosity was the driving force of advancement.
Silence fell over the Red Room.
The disciples in white exchanged looks but made no sound. The expressions that flashed across Song Qing’s face worried them.
“He must be thinking about some forbidden experiments that’ll shock the world.”
“You’re right. Last year, he tried to transmute a cat’s flesh into a tree. His theory was that a beheaded creature could still regrow. He was in isolation for a month when the Principal Imperial Astronomer found out.”
Song Qing was immersed in the blue book. Fear was mixed with enthusiasm as he perused the pages. Suddenly, his eyes lit up—the fake silver transmutation process was described in detail.
‘Step one: Filter the salt water to obtain pure sodium chloride (pure salt).
‘Step two: Evaporate the water to obtain the sodium chloride crystals. Melt the crystals at 800 degree Celcius.
‘Step three: Pay attention! This step will determine the outcome of the transmutation process.’
Finally, the question that had plagued Song Qing and his disciples for many days will be answered!
A miraculous book!
Song Qing drank in the words hungrily. Realizing he was at the end of the page, he quickly turned the paper.
Emptiness.